The wireless industry here in the US is definitely changing, if but slowly - very slowly. T-Mobile was the first to start some new trends, notably doing away with data caps. Users who exceeded their data allotment for the billing cycle would be throttled back, not cut off. Sprint followed suit in October of last year. Recently, Verizon Wireless finally caught on and added free throttling to its pre-paid plans and also to its post-paid plans for a small monthly fee. Now, AT&T joins the fray with its announcement today of Mobile Share Advantage.

Starting August 21, AT&T customers (including those on the Business plans) will no longer have to fear overage charges.

AT&T, a company with a reputation for evil such that placing their logo inside a Death Star has always seemed genuinely appropriate, has announced some changes to pricing on its mobile data plans today. While some of those changes are genuinely good if you're a subscriber with a large data bucket or have some pretty particular usage habits, many new customers can expect to pay $5-10 more a month under the new structure, which AT&T of course claims is a totally innocuous attempt to "simplify" things for customers.

Here's the deal - currently, AT&T charges $25 a month (plus $25 per phone if you BYOD or use Next) for 1GB of data, $40 for 3GB, and $70 for 6GB.

Are you and your family so-called "data hounds," who need much, much more mobile data per month than the average user? Then for God's sake, avoid the limited plans on AT&T and Verizon, and go for T-Mobile or Sprint instead. But if those carriers aren't an option (say, because you occasionally like to stray beyond the limits of major metropolitan areas), then you'll definitely want to check out AT&T's latest data promotion.

If you sign up for a new AT&T Mobile Share Value family plan starting today, you get double the data for the same price, starting with the $130 tier.

AT&T will be offering a new type of family plan starting tomorrow (February 2nd) that could save you a bit of cash. The Mobile Share Value Plan includes 10GB of shared data with unlimited talk/text and starts at $130 for 2 lines, and each line you add only bumps the price up $15. Just about anyone can switch to this plan, but AT&T does have an ulterior motive – these new plans are probably designed to get customers off the phone subsidy gravy train.

Any AT&T customer on a 2-year contract is eligible to move to this family plan. Here's the caveat – when the current contract period is up, the Mobile Share Value Plan can't be renewed unless you buy a device at full price from AT&T, bring your own, or sign up for Next.

Everyone held out hope that when carriers started offering shared data allowances, it would actually be a good deal. Oh, how naïve we were. The plans on AT&T proved to be a little pricey, especially for those who only needed a little data. Well, Ma Bell is trying to make it right with some more low-end plans at 300MB and 2GB.

These new plans slot in on either side of the 1GB plan, which used to be the low end. The 300MB plan costs $20 per month plus $50 per phone on the account. The 2GB is $50 with each phone adding $45 to the bill.

T-Mobile may be done with the idea of carrier subsidies, but AT&T is ready to just pile them on. In the category of 7" tablets, Lenovo's A2107 is not too bad of a deal. Some specs don't quite match up to the N7; for example the screen is a little lower resolution, it only runs Android 4.0, and the processor is a little less powerful. However, where those aspects lack, this slate makes up for it with front and rear cameras and a 3G radio at a lower introductory price point. AT&T today has announced it now plans on carrying this unit in its stores, offering the device for $200 off contract.